


where king's blood blooms

by madnessiseverything



Series: tales of narnia [25]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Ettinsmoor War, Ficlet, Gen, Light Angst, Post-The Horse and His Boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27893551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madnessiseverything/pseuds/madnessiseverything
Summary: “Have you ever wondered,” Susan asks with a strangely hollow voice, one that immediately pulls Lucy’s eyes back to her in worry, “why the fields towards the north are so overflowing in flowers?”the one where spilt blood has its own aftermath.
Relationships: Edmund Pevensie & Lucy Pevensie & Peter Pevensie & Susan Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie & Susan Pevensie
Series: tales of narnia [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039454
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	where king's blood blooms

**Author's Note:**

> i posted a slightly shorter version of this on tumblr a bit back, and thought that ao3 deserves to have it too! as you know i have Many Thoughts, and this is one of them

Lucy finds Susan far up the northern tower, with her hair whipping in the wind and her hands, red from the cold, gently placed upon the balustrade. It has become somewhat of a morning routine since Susan returned from Tashbaan, so Lucy simply wraps a cloak around Susan’s shoulders and leans against the stonework. She follows her sister’s gaze out towards the northern mountains and lets out a gentle sigh. 

Then, unlike all other mornings, Susan decides to speak. “Have you ever wondered,” she asks with a strangely hollow voice, one that immediately pulls Lucy’s eyes back to her in worry, “why the fields towards the north are so overflowing in flowers?” 

Lucy frowns. She doesn’t know why the northern flowers would make her sister’s voice sound so empty. “I suppose,” she answers slowly, deliberating her answer, “I suppose the snowmelt?” 

Susan’s eyes never leave the mountains. “I’ve grown to fear another reason entirely these recent months.” 

“What reason?” 

Susan finally looks at her, and Lucy’s heart drops at the regret drawn into every inch of Susan’s face. “There are similar flowers down at Beruna.” 

Lucy’s heart stutters. “What?” 

Susan reaches up to tighten the cloak around herself. “Most of our battlefields bear them, I’ve come to realise. And none more than the northern fronts.”

Lucy doesn’t quite know what to say. It makes sense, she thinks to herself, of course, it does. After all, Narnia has always found ways to turn their darkest moments into something of beauty. But the look on Susan’s face lets Lucy know that her sister drew a different, much less optimistic conclusion.

“Susan?”

“How can we even look upon our kingdom with such love,” Susan whispers, staring back at the north with despair, “when the flowers bloom because our brother’s blood watered their seeds?” Her hands curl into fists atop the balustrade. “How can we bear to walk a ground that craves our brother’s death as much as it craves his life?” 

Lucy knows her words will do little against Susan’s fears this moment. So she wraps her arms around her shoulders and draws her into a tight embrace before she says anything else. 

“Peter’s gift to Narnia has always been his body, Susan. We cannot deprive him of his sacrifice, just as he cannot deprive us of ours.” It had been a hard journey for each sibling, and Lucy knows none of them would truly stop the others from serving Narnia in their own way. Of course, it doesn’t soothe the pain.

“I wish he had given something else,” Susan says against the side of Lucy’s head. Lucy cannot fault her sister for a wish she feels clawing up her own throat whenever she sees Peter ride off to battle. So she nods and closes her eyes.

Edmund finds them minutes later and doesn’t say a single word. He wraps them in his arms, and Lucy watches his gaze wander to the mountains. It takes a while for the winds to chase them back inside.

"He will be home soon," Edmund promises, and nothing else needs saying.

**Author's Note:**

> i have a [narnia tumblr](https://bloodybigwardrobe.tumblr.com/) and am also active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/notanycritter). i'm always up for a chat!


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